Single Bobwhite male ISO buddy? or mate(s)?

[Littlebigquail]

Hi,
I've recently acquired a young adult male bobwhite quail who turned out to be a great pet. He's kept in a rabbit cage indoors for now (we have a hot climate here in the summer, temperate in the winter). I would like to build him an outdoor run once the weather cools down. We would like to get him a companion. However, we are not equipped to incubate and raise quails and although we would love to have quail eggs it's not essential. Would it be best to get him a female companion of another variety (coturnix), or another bobwhite male? A bobwhite female (and then is there a way to use the eggs before they develop)? Appreciate any help, I am very new to quail lore and am having trouble finding answers online.

 

[CindyinSD]

I’m not a quail expert but I do know a few over on the quail hatch along thread. @007Sean If I’m remembering correctly the Bobs can be aggressive toward Cots. I’m sure another bobwhite would be better.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Bobs are aggressive to anyone not in their mated pair, at least during breeding season, and are iffy at best outside of breeding season. You need a lady bobwhite for him so they'll pair up.

Eggs will only hatch if they're incubated, and quail often don't try to incubate their own eggs. If you collect the eggs whenever you see them (and, with 1 female, it'll be less than 1 egg a day), you can either eat the eggs yourself, or scramble them and feed them back to your quail. Fertilized eggs are only a few cells different from unfertilized eggs, so there's absolutely no reason you can't eat them.